Dmitry Rybolovlev came out clean
Criminal case against Russian billionaire dropped in Monaco Dmitry Rybolovlev (net worth, according to Forbes, $6.4 billion), which was initiated as part of a conflict between him and a Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier and their mutual friend, a resident of Monaco Tanya Rappo. About it writes Monaco-MatinRBC information was confirmed by the official representative of the businessman.
From left to right: Prince Albert II of Monaco, Dmitry Rybolovlev and Tatiana BershedaThe trial lasts almost nine years. Rappo introduced the businessman and the art dealer in the early 2000s, when Rybolovlev wanted to collect an art collection. They collaborated for almost ten years.
Rybolovlev filed a fraud claim against Bouvier in January 2015 (this case has already been dismissed). It included an amount of $1 billion, the businessman accused Bouvier of selling paintings at inflated prices and making “incredible profits,” and Rappo of “taking advantage of her role as an intermediary to get extremely rich.”
As evidence of cooperation between Bouvier and Rappo, Rybolovlev’s side in February 2017 was going to present an audio recording that “was made during a private dinner at Dmitry Rybolovlev’s house in Monaco on February 23, 2015.” Two days after this dinner, Rappo and Bouvier were arrested.
Rybolovlev’s lawyer appeared to hand over the recording to the public security authorities. Tatiana Bersheda. Rappo responded by filing a complaint against the lawyer for violating the right to respect for private and family life. Billionaire and former Prosecutor General of Monaco Jean-Pierre Drenault was accused of complicity. Monaco-Matin notes that after this an examination of Bersheda’s phone was carried out.
It also said Rappo withdrew her complaint, but her lawyer declined to comment to the publication.
Rybolovlev’s lawyers Tom Jacquardi And Martin Reynaud explained that the case against Rybolovlev was dropped due to the lack of evidence of a crime. The billionaire declared his innocence; there were “no facts to bring him to justice.” “There will be no trial of Dmitry Rybolovlev. He is finally acquitted,” the defenders concluded.
However, the case against Bersheda is not closed; it will be considered by the court. The lawyer denied that she had “made even the slightest mistake in these proceedings” and the prosecution asked that the case against her be dropped. Bersheda’s lawyer noted in a conversation with Monaco-Matin that his client’s innocence is expected to be confirmed at trial.
Let us recall that initially two companies filed a lawsuit in the New York court back in October 2018 – Accent Delight International Ltd. and Xitrans Finance Ltd., which said Sotheby’s “substantially contributed to the largest art fraud in history.” […] It was about 38 works of art worth more than $2 billion. As stated by Accent Delight International Ltd. and Xitrans Finance Ltd., they collectively lost about $1 billion. […]
Representatives of the auction house argued, in turn, that the claims made against it had no prospects and that the “unsubstantiated allegations” of the plaintiffs were already being challenged in the Geneva court. In connection with the appeal of Rybolovlev’s structures to the New York court, the auction house previously expressed its intention to request information from those who were in one way or another related to the transactions, including Yves Bouvier and the entrepreneur’s lawyer Tatyana Bersheda.
